Practice to Deceive
by McMahonHelmsleyEraFan
Summary: CoAuthorship with Livvie. Stephanie may be fired as the GM of Smackdown. She prepares to meet her newest talent: Mr. America, in hope that he can save her faltering show. As usual, Hunter's out to get her. 2 chapter story. Complete.
1. All Set to Meet Mr America

Practice to Deceive

Stephanie walked down the hallway, smoothed her skirt nervously. This was it. This was the deal that would finally help Smackdown get back on its feet. Since losing two of her brightest stars, Edge and Kurt Angle, Stephanie realized that her show had...faltered.

It was hardly her fault though, but her of course her father didn't see it this way. He thought she was failing, thought that that idiot Bischoff was actually producing a better show than her.

She'd heard rumblings backstage, whispered conversations that Dad was thinking of replacing her.

She knew he was capable of it, certainly. He'd stab her in the back, his own daughter, before she even realized what had hit her.

But now, she had an ace up her sleeve. This newest acquisition...Her newest acquisition...He would be her greatest triumph to date: Mr. America. His athleticism, she'd been told was unparalled.

She'd been told by his agents that he was not only physically gifted, but an incredibly intelligent wrestler as well. Someone definitely guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. Stephanie couldn't help but be a little wary. After all, things that sounded too good to be true usually were. And Mr.America? Definitely fit the bill. Well, standing outside this guy's dressing room wasn't going to accomplish anything. She quickly strode over to the mirror in the hallway and smoothed her hair, pressed her lips together to renew the color of her lipstick. Deep breath, she told herself. She'd make a wonderful impression on this guy, convince him that signing with Smackdown was the smartest thing he'd ever done.

She raised her hand to the door and rapped three times. She heard a muffled shuffling of a chair and a grunted "Come in." She pasted her biggest smile on her face and twisted the doorknob.

Her smile, however, quickly faded when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

Her hand dropped to her side and a look of mortification mixed with surprise took over

She stared at him as he simply looked up and grinned at her with some curious mixture of triumph and evilness. She blinked rapidly. _This cannot be happening_. She told herself. She stepped back outside and closed the door behind her.

Just as quick as she shut it, she popped it back open, fully expecting not to see him sitting there…_Dammit, he's still here!_ Once again, she closed the door and swung it back open. He was still there. She felt her hands curl into fists at her side and in a pitifully whiny voice asked "Ohhhh, why? What the hell are you doing here?"

He stood up and grinned "Well, Steph. I'm here for Mr. America, of course." Realization hit her. "Oh, I get it now, Hunter. You're here to ruin this deal for me." Hunter simply laughed. "Yeah, that's it." She said looking at him knowingly and walked around him in a circle.

"You're either going to convince him not to sign, or you'll just beat the crap out of him to where he'll be out for awhile and I'll lose money. Thus, making me look bad."

"Well then, you've just got it all figured out don't ya?" Hunter clapped slowly, mockingly in reaction for her accusations.

She shot him a glare. "Are you insulting my intelligence?" She asked incredulously.

"Why Steph, I'd never do such a thing."

"Yeah, whatever. You do realize I can have your ass thrown out, right?" she asked.

"Oh really?" He asked laughing at her. "I highly doubt that."

"Fuck off, Hunter. You're here to ruin me…again!" she said yelling at the end of her sentence.

"Actually, I'm here to save you…" He trailed off mysteriously.

Steph looked at him slack jawed like he lost his damn mind.

"Don't believe me?" He asked.

"I'll believe you when hell freezes over."

Stephanie started to walk out, she had to get out of this room and figure out what Hunter had done with Mr. America. What if he'd persuaded him not to sign with her somehow? What if he'd figured out some way to get Mr. America out of the ironclad contract she'd just had him signed to not even an hour ago? She swallowed hard, God, how could Hunter do this? She'd left him alone, he hadn't made any attempt to contact her either...so why, why now? Did he just get off on setting fire to any good thing she had going on in her life?

Did he truly hate her so much? She pulled at the doorknob, stifling her suddenly too heavy breathing but was startled when a huge hand smacked the door shut in front of her. "Steph." Low, gravelly voice and it was everywhere around her, in every molecule of air surrounding them. "You're not going anywhere, and for that matter, neither am I."

"Oh, shut the hell up. Stop with all your little--your little--pronouncements!" she finished awkwardly.

"Pronouncements?" She could hear the smirk in his voice, but she refused to look at him, just stared blankly at his hand. She closed her eyes for a moment, tried to count backwards from ten. All the magazines said that counting would help someone calm down, not get angry, not lose their temper.

But the counting wasn't working...maybe she'd just got it confused with counting sheep in order to sleep or something. "Stupid magazines."

"Huh?" Hunter murmured.

Stephanie realized she'd muttered that aloud. _Damn_. She swiveled her head to look at him, and was a little freaked out that he was suddenly so close, his face just a couple inches from hers, so close she could practically see the pores in his skin, and she could smell the faint hint of his expensive cologne. _Nothing but the best for the 'Champion'_, she thought wryly.

She backed up against the door and the back of her head pressed against his hand. She leaned forward again, to move away, but to her shock, he moved even closer and turned his hand around so that it wove itself in her hair, holding her in place. She gaped at him, unsure of what to do. It wasn't as though she could move, or for that matter, even breathe at this point. "Wh--what are you doing?" She asked, pleased at the cool tone of her voice. Because she wasn't affected by this sudden nearness, no, not at all.

Just because she hadn't even talked to this man, to her ex-husband in months, and the fact that this was their first actual contact in so long...

_Get a grip!_ She pushed against Hunter with her right hand and reached behind to pull his hand out of her hair. He let go immediately, with a slight smile. Smile? No. Wrong word. It was...a grin. That stupid grin that he'd always had, the one that told her he thought he had gotten one up on some poor sucker, and they were just too dumb to realize it.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling thinking she was suddenly that sucker. She walked over to one of the overstuffed chairs and sank into it, crossing her legs in front of her. "What are you even doing here, Hunter?" She asked again, finally.

He stared at her for a moment and then eased his body into the other chair across from her.

And that was when Stephanie realized something, something that made her feel a whole lot better, impossibly fast. He was nervous. Hunter Hearst-Helmsley, her ex-husband, was nervous.


	2. Motives

This whole conversation suddenly gotalot more interesting in Stephanie's mind. She leaned forward, even managing a genuine half-smile. "Sooo..." She purred. It definitely helped that she thought she was getting a cold, it added a nice smoky tone to her voice. She could see that it had an effect on him from the sudden widening of brown eyes, his gaze boring into her own. "Hunter, if you've got something to say, just say it already. In case you have yet to notice, I'm sort of busy right now. I don't have the time for you and your pathetic games anymore. If you've got something to say, say it, otherwise, I need to go find my newest Smackdown signee. I'm going to make him huge."

"You are, are you?" Stephanie couldn't understand the jerk's sudden laugh, but she did know that she didn't appreciate it--or get a good feeling about it.

Her eyes got that fiery glare, the glare that said you were on "Steph's list"…he suspected it was getting to be one hell of a long list by now, and he took a certain amount of pride in keeping himself at or near the very top of it. She was a worthy adversary, after all…

"Are you laughing at me?"

"Maybe." Hunter taunted. "What's it to you?"

"It's everything to me. That little grin of yours always has some hidden message behind it."

"Nice observation there, Steph."

He flashed a sexy, butter-wouldn't-melt-in-his-mouth smile, before leaning towards her.

"So, what's the hidden message this time?" He asked in damn near a whisper.

Stephanie had to keep control of her hormones or Hunter would drive her over the edge. Just because they were divorced didn't change the fact that the man was sexy as all hell.

She bit her lower lip before replying, "I don't know. But I'm sure I'll soon find out. I always do."

"That you will." He added, smirking.

Stephanie couldn't take it anymore. This whole conversation was going to slowly drive her insane. Then…she got a tiny idea. It probably wouldn't work, but what the hell? She'd give it a go. She stood up and walked over to the arm of Hunter's chair and sat on it, leaning onto his shoulder. "Hunter, I'm going to find out one way or the other. So why not save the games for another time and just tell me what you're up to?" She whispered into his ear while running a manicured finger along his jaw line.

"I uhhh, umm." Hunter began, but was cut off as Stephanie nipped and slightly licked his earlobe. It always drove him crazy and she knew that!

She knew that! _Damn it._ Now he knew what she was getting at. He was always at his most vulnerable when she did things like this to him. Well, it was not happening this time. He'd just have to resist her.

_Am I serious? I'm going to resist her? Am I going nuts?_

Hunter tried to gently slide away from her. It didn't work. She pulled him back, and he found that he wasn't resisting very hard.

Stephanie knew she was winning. She had him right where she wanted him, now all he had to do was spill. She smirked to herself, and even though that smirk was quite unnoticeable, Hunter still felt it against his skin.

That seemed to motivate him enough, seeing as how he gently but effectively pushed Stephanie off of the chair.

"What the hell?" She asked with a bit of an attitude

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" He bit out. "What game are you playing at, Steph?" Using the armrest for leverage, she pulled herself off of the floor.

"No game, Hunter. Just giving you a taste of your own medicine. What do you think you're playing at?" She suddenly caught a glimpse of the clock behind Hunter's shoulder. Before he could say anything she gasped and ran for the door. "Whatever the hell this all is, Hunter, it will just have to have to wait for another time. I have far more important things to attend to right now and--"

"Like Mr. America's debut?" Hunter queried smoothly. There was something in the way he said that, in the way it was pitched...Stephanie turned slowly. "What have you done? Why are you here? I'm not--I'm not asking again." She whispered firmly.

He stood still a moment. Nodded. "Okay, Steph. No more teasing. Well...the reason I'm here...I wanted to be the one to introduce you to Mr. America. He's a close, personal friend. I thought I'd do you the favor of a proper introduction. He's a hard guy to impress."

"So you're doing me a favor?" Stephanie laughed. "Yeah, and my father just decided to start giving money to charities all around the globe because he's such a good, upstanding, decent man."

Hunter startled her by walking across the room, his back to her as he rummaged through a duffel bag. She was so angry, she couldn't even stand to look at him. She bit her lip and stared at the concrete wall instead, biting out: "You're pathetic, Hunter. That's what you are. You're a sad, miserable, low excuse for a human being and--"

"And I'm all yours, babe. Meet Mr. America."

Stephanie tore her gaze from the concrete. _What the_ _fu--?_ Hunter turned around, red, white and blue mask on his face, his hair pulled behind his head. Stephanie shook her head in denial.

No. No. _No way was this happening._ She was not this cursed, she wasn't...what the hell had she ever done to deserve this s.o.b. ruining her life at each and every single turn? Stephanie did the only thing she could think to do.

She started screaming.


End file.
